Homemade Mantu

Mantu became my favourite dish of the journey. I made the wrappers from scratch and used beef for the filling.

Ingredients

Dough

300 g	Wheat flour
150 ml	Hot water, 70–80°C
½ tsp	Salt
1 tsp	Oil, optional

Filling

250 g	Minced beef
170 g	Onion, finely chopped
½ clove	Garlic
½ tsp each	Cumin and coriander
To taste	Salt, pepper, optional chilli

Yoghurt sauce

200 g	Plain yoghurt
½ clove	Garlic
½	Lemon, juice
1–2 tbsp	Water
1 tsp	Dried mint
To taste	Salt

Tomato sauce

120 g	Passata
50 g	Onion
60 g	Cooked yellow split peas, optional
10 ml	Oil
¼ tsp	Turmeric
To taste	Salt, pepper, chilli

Method

1. Mix flour and salt. Add hot water and optional oil, knead 8–10 minutes, then rest 30–45 minutes.
2. Combine the filling ingredients.
3. Roll the dough 1–2 mm thin and cut into 8 × 8 cm squares.
4. Add a small spoonful of filling and seal securely.
5. Oil the steamer generously. Arrange without touching and steam for 30–35 minutes.
6. For the tomato sauce, fry the onion, add passata, turmeric, optional split peas and seasoning; simmer about 10 minutes.
7. For the yoghurt sauce, mix yoghurt, garlic, lemon juice, mint, salt and enough water to make it spoonable.
8. Plate with yoghurt sauce, Mantu and tomato sauce; finish with mint.

My review

Mantu surprised me the most. The cool, tangy yoghurt sauce worked beautifully with the warm tomato sauce. Mint, coriander and cumin brought everything together, while the sauces supplied exactly the juiciness the comparatively dry beef filling needed.

What I would change next time

I would oil the steamer more generously or use perforated baking paper to prevent the Mantu from sticking.

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